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A good digital thermometer keeps me from serving dry overcooked food or dangerously undercooked food. You can get a professional grade, fast and precise splashproof thermometer like the Thermopop (above) for about $24. The Thermapen (below), the Ferrari of instant reads, is about $96. It's the one you see all the TV chefs and all the top competition pitmasters using. Click here to read more about types of thermometer and our ratings and reviews.

GrillGrates(TM) amplify heat, prevent flareups, make flipping foods easier, produce great grill marks, keep small foods from committing suicide, kill hotspots, are easier to clean, flip over to make a fine griddle, smolder wood right below the meat, and can be easily removed and moved from one grill to another. You can even throw wood chips or pellets or sawdust between the rails and deliver a quick burst of smoke to whatever is above. Every gas grill and pellet smoker needs them.

If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to create steakhouse steaks.

Absolutely positively without a doubt the best bargain on a smoker in the world.

This baby will cook circles around the cheap offset sideways barrel smokers in the hardware stores because temperature control is so much easier (and that's because smoke and heat go up, not sideways).

Made of rugged 1/8" thick aluminum, 20" long, with four serious rivets, mine show zero signs of weakness after years of abuse. I use them on meats, hot charcoal, burning logs, and with the mechanical advantage that the scissor design creates, I can easily pick up a whole packer brisket. Click here to read more.

Mo's Smoking Pouch is essential for gas grills. It is an envelope of mesh 304 stainless steel that holds wood chips or pellets. The airspaces in the mesh are small enough that they limit the amount of oxygen that gets in so the wood smokes and never bursts into flame. Put it on top of the cooking grate, on the burners, on the coals, or stand it on edge at the back of your grill. It holds enough wood for about 15 minutes for short cooks, so you need to refill it or buy a second pouch for long cooks like pork shoulder and brisket. Mine has survived more than 50 cooks. Click for more info.

The same knives used at Peter Luger, Smith & Wollensky, and Morton's. Machine washable, high-carbon stainless steel, hardwood handle. And now they have the AmazingRibs.com imprimatur. Click for more info.

Change Your Life Rich Red Wine Sauce

When you put a piece of meat dunked in this red wine sauce, your life will change. You will understand why the French are masters of cuisine. Similar to the classic French Bordelaise sauce, this velvety rich sauce makes a classic topping for beef and lamb. I love it on beef tenderloin or filets mignon, which, although they are beloved by many, often have a metallic or liver undernote. It really illuminates a lightly smoked pork chop. As heretical as it may seem, it is great on pulled pork. I like to serve boiled baby potatoes on the side, and I douse them with this sauce too.

Makes. 1 cup, enough for 4-6 servings of meatPreparation time. About 2 hours, but you don't have to do muchSpecial equipment. Large nonstick frying pan or skillet

About the butter. Yes, there's a lot, but don't use margarine and don't leave any out. Butter is better. There is something special about the chemistry of butter that helps enrich and thicken this sauce. That's why we don't use flour or corn starch to thicken it. It doesn't matter if it is salted or unsalted. If it is salted you may just want to skip the pinch of salt at the end.

About the wine. Look for a wine that is not high in tannin. That's the component of young reds, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, that makes your tongue feel as though you've been licking a dusty window sill. Also, try for a wine that is low in acid. That's the component that makes the wine very tart, typical of Pinot Noir and Beaujolais. Steer away from the cheap jug wines that often have preservatives and rubbery flavors. Merlot is a good choice, as is Australian Syrah. You can even use a ruby port, but if you do, skip the jelly because the wine is sweet. I've even had good luck with wine from the closeout bin. You don't need to spend more than $10 per 750 ml bottle.

About the tomato paste. There's just a little bit in this recipe, but don't hesitate to open a can. You can freeze the rest. I scoop the leftover into 1 tablespoon dollops, freeze them on a sheet pan, and then dump them into a zipper bag in the freezer. Then, whenever I need a little bit of paste, it's right there in pre-measured amounts. If you don't have tomato paste, in this recipe you can substitute ketchup.

About the beef stock. You can skip the beef stock and use 3 tablespoons of demi-glace, which is essentially a veal stock heavily reduced, and just add it with the wine. There will be less liquid then and reducing the sauce will take less time. Click here for more on sauces, stocks, broths, etc.

About the jelly. The French recipe calls for red currant jelly, and purists will lapse into apoplexy when the see the use of Concord grape jelly, but it does a great job of rounding out the middle and adding complexity. Concord grape jelly is my first choice because it is so bright and fruity, but you can use other dark fruits like cherry or raspberry (seedless, please). In a pinch, you can use sugar, just use 1/2 the quantity of jelly.

Method
1) In a large frying pan melt 3 of the 5 tablespoons of the butter and add the onion, carrot, celery, rosemary, sage, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Cook over a high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until the onions begin to brown. That's why we use a non-stick pan, when you reduce liquid this much, it can really make a mess of other pans. By the way, the mix of 2 parts onion, to 1 part carrot, and 1 part celery is called a mirepoix (MEER-a-pwah), and is a foundation of French cooking and is common in soups, stuffings, and, of course, sauces.

2) Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes until it begins to darken. Add the wine and the beef stock. Boil for 30 minutes. Pour everything through a strainer into a saucepan, and squeeze the juices through the strainer with a ladle or whatever you used to stir the veggies.

3) Boil over high heat until it is reduced to about 1 cup and keep an eye on things so they don't burn. Add the grape jelly and stir until it is thoroughly dissolved. Turn off the heat, taste and add salt if necessary. It will not be thick and goopy like ketchup, it will be more like egg nog in thickness. If you are not planning on using the sauce immediately or don't plan to use it all, you can store it in the fridge or freezer.

4) When you need the sauce, warm it and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and when it is thoroughly melted, swirl it around with a spoon and serve immediately. Do not whisk in the butter, just swirl it. This is called "mounting it" with butter (yes, that's the correct technical term). If you feel decadent, add another tablespoon.

Optional. Taste and add a dash of balsamic vinegar and splash hot sauce just for the fun of it.

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About this website. AmazingRibs.com is all about the science of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes, tips on technique, and unbiased equipment reviews. Learn how to set up your grills and smokers properly, the thermodynamics of what happens when heat hits meat, as well as hundreds of excellent tested recipes including all the classics: Baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, steaks, barbecue sauces, spice rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers, grills, accessories, and thermometers, edited by Meathead.

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